The mercury remained at sub-zero levels in at least five districts of Uttar Pradesh claiming 16 more lives over the past 24 hours taking the death toll due to the bitter cold to 249.

According to reports from the metrological office, Gorakhpur and Ghazipur clocked -1°C and remained the coldest places in the state followed by Lucknow at -0.7°C.

34 more deaths in Uttar Pradesh; season’s toll goes up to 233

At least 34 more deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday as cold wave conditions continued unabated in North, East and Central parts of the country even as temperatures went up slightly at some places. The Capital witnessed a chilly but sunny morning with the mercury rising a bit during the early hours. There was a shallow fog in the morning hours and the minimum temperature was 4.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal and up from Tuesday’s 3.3 degrees.

New Delhi: There was no respite from the cold wave across north India on Monday as the mercury dipped close to the freezing point at several places in the region and killed 29 more people, mounting the toll from it this season to around 200.

Officials said six people died in Ghazipur, three each in Azamgarh and Barabanki in UP. Two deaths were reported from Fatehpur, Sultanpur and Chandauli besides one each in Jaunpur and Siddhartnagar in the state that had reported the maximum cold-related deaths —175 — this season.

Plummeting mercury, coupled with a thick fog cover, threw normal life out of gear in the entire North India on Monday, with 24 more people succumbing to the chill in various parts of the region.

While 20 more people died in Uttar Pradesh, four persons lost their lives in Uttarakhand, said officials. Delhi continued to shiver with the mercury below normal in the city by five notches to settle at 2.4 degrees Celsius, even as it rose from Sunday’s 1.9 degrees Celsius.

Bihar has set out to match Mumbai with its own version of the Marine Drive.

Heavy rains have wreaked havoc in eastern Uttar Pradesh leaving 28 people dead, while the water level in major rivers is rising.

While 18 people were killed in incidents of wall and house collapse in Jaupur district, 10 deaths were reported from Mirzapur district which received 120 mm and 150 mm respectively since Saturday, officials said on Sunday.

The monsoon remained subdued in parts of North India on Monday, including Punjab and Haryana, even as the flood fury was unabated in Uttar Pradesh.
Major rivers continued to overflow, inundating a number of villages in Uttar Pradesh and disrupting the transmission of Doordarshan and AIR in Bareilly.

LUCKNOW: The fact that Gomti's flow and level have reduced drastically has caught the attention of the government which is now mulling to constitute a river conservation unit for its restoration and conservation. The river, reeling under the bane of pollution and encroachment, has its flow reduced to one-third and is in an urgent need of revival.